Raised in Roanipur
by Fellgrave
Summary: When his mother died, Shinji was sent to live with his uncle. Due to the suddenness of the incident, he was forced to join his Uncle on an important business trip. Shame no-one was expecting the boat they were traveling to be hit by pirates.
1. Chapter 1

Heh, well this was supposed to be **Take the Red and Run, **but unfortunately I hit some nasty writer's block and I am finding myself unable to continue with it. Instead I'm bringing you another side project of mine. Though this is a crossover, I'm not putting it in the crossover section because I think that it will get more views in the main section.

Also of note, I'm basing this story more around the events as they are depicted in the manga, as that is what I am familiar with. Well, more of a mix of the two mediums actually, both manga and anime. If I miss something or things seem incorrect, you can point it out, but please try and not be a total pain about it.

And before any of you start, yes I seem to write a lot of new stories without finishing old ones, yes I'm still working on said old ones, yes I'm working on the next chapter of ToT. The current order of updates for the moment is this one, A Kitsune in Nerima, and then ToT. So be patient my friends, and if you get antsy, just check my profile for the current status on every story.

But, back to the story, I hope you enjoy it. I've always been a fan of the 'Shinji raised by so and so' fics, and that's how this one came about. So, how would Shinji turn out, if he was raised in what many consider to be a hell on earth? And no, this is not a Buffy crossover... though that would be interesting...

* * *

A five-year old Shinji stood sniffling, a large suitcase on the ground next to him and a waiting train behind him. He turned his bleary eyes toward his father who was crouching in front of him, a hand resting on his shoulder as he was given a stern look.

"Shinji, I know that things may seem rough, but I'm sure your uncle will take good care of you. Now I want you to be strong for me alright?" His father gave a wan smile as Shinji managed a small nod. Gendo gave Shinji a pat on the shoulder as he stood up. "Good, now you should get going, you don't want to keep your uncle waiting too long."

"B-b-but Daddy, what about mommy?" Shinji's teary heartfelt voice snagged something in Gendo, freezing him in place. He took a deep breath as he thought of how to respond to such a deep question.

"Shinji, my son. There is nothing on this Earth that can ever stop me from getting back your mother. " Gendo began to move to leave, before pausing and retrieving a small box from within his jacket. His hand began to tremble as he put it into his son's hands. " Take good care of that Shinji, until your mother returns, it was hers after all." Shinji's eyes went wide as he stared at the small box, before clutching it tightly to his chest. Gendo gave him a sickly half-smile as he turned and left, giving the other man, Shinji's uncle on his mother's side, a nod before heading off to the street and the car that awaited him.

Shinji's uncle sighed as he watched the boy's father head off. While he could understand some of the reasoning behind the decision, the fact remained that he was completely unprepared for taking care of the boy, and he had an important assignment that would be taking him out of the country soon, or so his superiors told him. Well, he could always take the kid with him, after all what was the worst thing that could happen?

Shelving those thoughts for later, he walked up and put rested a hand on Shinji's shoulder, the contact causing him to look up. "Why don't we get going, after all the train won't wait forever. In case your father or mother didn't tell you, and considering how my sister used to be, I doubt she said much about us, my name is -

* * *

"Attention all travelers! We will be arriving in Tokyo-3 in two minutes!" Shinji gave a start as he was shaken out of his memories by the computerized voice of the train announcement." Please make sure you have all your personal belongings gathered before exiting the train. Thank you and have a nice day!"

Blinking away the last bits of his memory, of the last time he had seen, let alone spoken to his father. Carefully smoothing out his white dress shirt, as well as making sure his tie, a joke gift from his aunt due to how he tried to mimic his uncle, Shinji slung his only piece of luggage up over his shoulder, the black duffel bag resting comfortably on his back.

Stepping off the train he pulled out a couple of objects from his pocket. The first was a simple envelope, the ever so brief note inside read several times over already, that he stuffed angrily back into his pocket. The other though, he couldn't help but give it a more appreciative look over. She wasn't the most beautiful woman he had ever seen, though in her case it was probably all natural, unlike a large portion of the women back home. And he had to admit, the colour of her hair was certainly unique. A small part of him wondered what her relation was with his father, considering that he received the photo in the same envelope as his father's 'message' to him.

Pulling out a cellphone he dialed the number written on the back of the picture. He frowned when all he received was an out of service message and a repeat of the automated warning to find an emergency shelter. Yeah, lot of good that did when it didn't tell where to find them. Sighing he put the phone back into his bag as he stepped towards the curb, looking either way along the road for any sign of life amongst the abandoned cars and buildings.

He took a step forwards towards the edge of the curb and looked down the street. For a moment he though he saw a figure in distance, but when he tried to focus it was gone. hearing a loud noise he craned his neck skyward and watched as a fighter jet, a Canadian built Avro-X3 the part of his mind his aunt had drilled the information into noted, built for high speed low maneuverability combat with a generally small loadout, soared past, its passage causing the windows of the nearby buildings to rattle.

A second later he was forced to clap his hands over his ears as the fighter's payload blasted through the narrow streets. Following the trail to its target, Shinji's jaw dropped. '_That, that's just not right.'_ What Shinji was refering to, of course, was the fact that the missile that had just past him had impacted against what could only be termed a godzilla movie reject, and the additional fact that the missiles detonations seemed to have had no affect on the monster only served to enhance Shinji's growing apprehension.

From his position he watched as the monster walked through the last traces of the explosions before spearing a nearby gunship, a Chinese designed Huǒǒo yīng VTOL combat model, with what looked like a beam of light. The gunship quickly began to fall out of the sky and Shinji watched it for a second before he realized that it was falling towards him. His mouth dropped open as he back-pedaled as fast he could from the falling aircraft. He was knocked off his feet by the impact of the aircraft crashing into the ground and he landed on his back, allowing to watch as giant skull faced thing took to the air itself.

Shinji scrambled backwards on his hands and knees as the giant began to come back down to the ground, its foot landing on crashed VTOL. Shinji closed his eyes as he saw the flames begin to appear within the seams of the aircraft as it started to explode, only to open them again when he heard the loud screeching of tires in front of him. Shinji stopped stunned at the somewhat incongruous tableau in front of him.

Behind the car was a rising plume of smoke and fire from the downed gunship that swirled around the leg of the giant in the wind. And then there was the car itself, or rather its unlikely appearance in such a strange place with its driver, the same woman from the picture, though dressed a touch more conservatively. Shinji noticed that her lips were moving and from her expression and increasingly energetic beckoning, she had been trying to get a response from him for a while. Shaking his head to clear it, Shinji jumped into the offered seat and threw his bag into the back.

The violet haired woman gave him a look and slammed on the gas as soon as he was seated solidly in the car. As soon as they had gotten out of sight of the giant's leg she gave Shinji a glance out of the corner of her eye as she handled the narrow streets of the city with what some might consider excessive amounts of speed.

"So kid, you're Shinji Ikari right?" The sudden question snapped Shinji's focus from the ongoing battle against the giant to his driver. His only response however, was a tentative nod, as he had to brace himself as the car swerved around a tight corner. The nod caused the violet haired woman to give a relieved sigh. "Ah, that's good. for a second I was worried that I'd picked up the wrong kid."

Shinji just stared at her after she said that, not even bothering to turn around when another one of the VTOLs was destroyed, this time exploding in midair. As she began to sweat under his intense scrutiny, which thankfully for her didn't carry nearly the same amount of ill intent as his father's gaze, she tried to change the subject. "Uh, well anyways, the name's Misato Kasturagi. Captain and Chief of Tactical Operations at NERV HQ." She gave Shinji a considering look and a small smile. "You're taking this all pretty well. I'm quite impressed."

Shinji rolled his eyes, at least her earlier statement put to rest his worries about her and his father, as those thoughts were far too disturbing for long term contemplation, let alone the possibility of them being real. There was something though, something about her name that tickled a memory in the back of his mind. "Please, compared to some of the shit I went through back home this is nothing. Though I will admit, the giant rampaging monster is new. Speaking of, what the hell was that thing back there?"

Misato's smile slipped as she glanced at the Angel in the rear-view mirror. "That, _monster,_ was an Angel." For a moment her eyes took on a far away look, before they snapped back into focus and the smile returned to her face. "Ah, I'm sure Ritsy can tell you more than I could about them, so why don't we talk about something else. Anything you want to ask me?"

Shinji cocked his head to the side, his eyes widening as he suddenly recalled _exactly_ where he had Misato's name before. "Uh, yeah actually. You said you were a Captain?" Misato looked confused at the odd question but nodded nonetheless. Shinji continued, "So that means you must have some combat experience right?" Another, more tentative nod, as Misato wondered at the purpose of the current line of questioning. "Where did you fight then?"

Shinji froze as Misato tensed up slightly, and he wondered if he had maybe gone a bit too far, but Misato relaxed and the moment passed. "You know what kid? You're the first person to ask that in quite a while. I fought in the war for the Middle East, started out as a grunt too and worked my way up." Shinji nodded, while so far his suspicions were proving accurate, there was one last piece he needed to confirm.

"So, uh, Independent or National?" Misato blinked and turned her eyes from the road to stare curiously at her passenger.

"Independent, but how would you know about that anyway?" Shinji chuckled and sheepishly rubbed the back of his neck as he looked at the dashboard in front of him.

"Well, thanks to Aunty and Uncle's business we kinda run into them every once in a while. Sides, Aunty thinks I could take over after she retires and she's been making sure I know as much as I can. Well that, and she fought in the war too, though she doesn't tell me any of the details." Misato's face had an odd look to it as she watched her quite mature for his age, up to this point at least, passenger pout. Misato just shook her head and turned to look out her window to see how the battle was going, only to notice the remaining aircraft breaking off and retreating.

It took her a split second to realize what was going to happen next, and in that moment she could already see the barest glimmer of light from the deadliest weapon in the United Nations arsenal, the N2 mine. Shouting a curse Misato braked hard, before trying to throw herself over Shinji and bring him to the floor. Her actions had come at just the right time as the ensuing shockwave from the mine's detonation picked up and threw the car through the air like a limp rag doll.

Shinji slipped out of Misato's currently limp grasp, due to her being knocked unconcious from the blast and subsequent tumbling around, and got of the car. Taking a look around he winced at the amount of destruction the bomb had caused. Turning back, he was happy to find that the blast, while it had ended up putting the car onto its side, had left the car on small hill. Moving around the car until he was standing up above it thanks to the incline, Shinji took a step back before slamming his shoulder into the car as hard as he could manage.

The car rocked for a moment before tipping over and landing on its wheels with a loud crash, the movement and noise causing Misato to wake. She sat up with a loud groan as she rubbed the top of her head. Blinking she looked around with a slightly confused look on her face. On seeing Shinji heading back towards the car she gave a relieved sigh. Not only would it have looked really bad if she had lost the Commander's kid, but she had been growing to like the little guy.

As he sat back down and redid his seatbelt, Shinji spared Misato a wry look, a hint of a smile tugging at the edge of his mouth. "You know, maybe this will teach you not to be late when picking up VIPs." Misato blinked and paled, before realising that the humour dancing in his eyes meant it was supposed to be a joke. Face flushing at being gotten to, Misato gave her passenger a small smile. Reaching over she ruffled his hair as he ineffectively attempted to keep her hand away. Chuckling she sat back and turned the car back on, giving a relieved sigh when it started without too much trouble.

Once back on the road she gave Shinji a look and chuckled once more when she found him trying to fix his messed up hair. "Alright I guess I deserved that, but don't forget, I could have just as easily left you behind." They both shared a wince as they imagined what might have happened had Misato not arrived when she had. "Uhh, then again... How about we just wait until we arrive before we talk more." Misato sheepishly smiled at Shinji, who nodded in agreement.

* * *

After having arrived at the entrance to NERV HQ, or at least that was where Shinji guessed they had arrived at, based on the designation on the gate they had entered through, Shinji and Misato gawked at the sight of the Geofront as they traveled along the car train, well Shinji gawked. Misato had been working at NERV long enough that the initial wonder had worn off, replaced with a measured fascination.

After Misato had parked the car, and handed Shinji a 'Welcome to NERV' booklet, they had ventured into the labyrinthine depths of the HQ. And then they had promptly gotten lost. Shinji had made more than a few snide remarks regarding Misato's ability to navigate the facility, as well as her ability to read a map, but for the most had calmly followed Misato's lead while he read through the official booklet he had been given.

Unsuprisingly it didn't contain anything beyond what could easily be termed propoganda, with a lot of repeated terms such as, "The last line of Humanity's defense', and other things along those lines. What it also didn't contain was what made NERV so important, or anything as to why he had been called here. As he and Misato passed by yet another one of the many doors that lined the hallways, it opened with a hiss.

The pair turned to face the source of the noise, and seeing who was standing in the now open doorway caused Misato to pale. Shinji however gave the blonde woman a quick look up and down, taking in the still somewhat wet swimsuit, and the coat with name tag thrown on over top. Before either of the pair of women could say anything, Shinji couldn't help but comment on the blonde woman's, a Dr. Akagi according to the tag on her coat, current state of dress.

"Well, if everyone here has looks like you two, I think I'll be more than happy to stay a while." The comment snatched the attention of both of the women. Misato blushed at the compliment, while Ritsuko took a second look at Shinji, comparing the person she saw in front of her to the one that the commander had said would be arriving, and finding few similarities between the two. "I do find myself wondering just what kind of experiments a scientist is conducting that requires the wearing of a swimsuit, though I must say if my science class did the same I wouldn't have found it nearly so boring.

Misato had to cover her mouth in order to keep the laughter that threatened to escape contained, while Ritsuko merely stared at Shinji with a mix of confusion and curiosity "You are not quite what I was expecting you know."

Shinji quirked an eyebrow. "Oh really, and just what were you expecting then? Me to try and jump your bones instead, because that outfit is endearing me to the idea more and more. " Misato was now bent over double as tremendous shakes racked her body, her face bright red as she thought of how much teasing material the boy was giving her.

Ritsuko looked caught off balance by Shinji's response, which had been aided with another long appreciative look. Face heating, she tried to draw her lab coat closed over top of her swimsuit. She coughed into her hand as she tried in vain to hold onto some semblance of her dignity. "That's not what I meant, and I'm sure you know it. But anything more will have to wait, we are running late enough as it is."

Still blushing she moved past Misato and started off down the hallway, before stopping and turning to face her friend. "Oh, and Misato, if you don't get a hold of yourself I will have to report to the commander that you managed to get caught in the N2 mine's blast, and considering you were supposed to be back at HQ well before it went off..." She trailed off with a knowing smirk as Misato straightened up, her breathing firmly under control at the thought of what punishment she might get if the commander knew that she had almost killed his son, and herself too, but that wasn't the point.

Quietly, Misato and Shinji followed closely behind Ritsuko, Shinji still wondering just what exactly they were late for. The three stepped into an elevator that carried them downwards, before depositing them in a cavernous , from the way the sound echoed, and pitch black room. The trio continued on for a little while into the chamber, before stopping abruptly. Shinji opened his mouth to ask why they were still in the dark, when the lights switched on to their most brilliant setting.

When Shinji reopened his eyes he had to fight back a shout of surprise at the massive monstrous and mechanical visage in front of him. He still stumbled back a step, allowing him to better take in the full scale of the immense, _thing, _in front of him. Stunned as he was, his mind still managed to make a connection to his mouth, though it failed to go through any of the normal filters between thought and speech.

"Its a mecha. A damn big mecha." Misato made a suspicious choked noise as Shinji basically rendered down NERV's greatest weapon and the cutting edge of many different sciences to an Otaku's wet dream. Ritsuko spun around to face her college friend, but found her perfectly composed as Misato gave a reproving look towards Shinji. As Ritsuko turned to the one who had made the comment, she failed to notice the smirk and knowing wink Misato gave Shinji behind her back.

"In a way I suppose you could call a mecha, though only in layman's terms. To be more accurate, this is the multi-purpose combat designed artificial humanoid Evangelion. Humanity's last and best hope for survival against the Angels." Ritsuko finished her speech with a flourish, her arms wide as she gestured towards the Evangelion. Her eyes were closed as she awaited the imminent comments of awe from the commander's son, but opened them quickly when the expected comments failed to arrive. Instead Shinji was staring at the Eva with a mix of bored disinterest, and the slightest bit of confusion.

"Okay, so what does this," Shinji stepped forwards and pointed towards the Eva, "have to do with me?" Ritsuko opened her mouth to answer, but closed it as she realized that she didn't actually know why the Commander had called his son to NERV, which was quite odd considering how much of his plan he had given her knowledge of. Misato to, was stumped as to the reason, though she had written it off as a father wanting to see his son again.

"It has quite a bit to do with you actually." The voice caused the three in front of the Eva to freeze, before all turning to face the source of the voice. Shinji began trembling, though he hid it well, as he stared up at the face that carried so many hateful memories with it. Completely unaffected by his son's glare, Gendo simply smirked down from on high. "It's been a while, hasn't it Shinji?"

Shinji had to bite his lip to keep from instantly going into a rage-filled rant towards his father, instead he kept his mouth shut tightly until he had a handle on his anger. That's not to say the anger wasn't there, but it was simply pushed down, left to lurk deep beneath the surface, providing heat and energy that could be controlled and used. "Yes, it has. And personally, I don't think its been nearly long enough. I could have gone the rest of my life without having to see your ugly face again. So skip the bullshit already and get to why I'm here."

While Ritsuko and Misato goggled at Shinji, both wondering, though with slightly different thoughts behind them, what kind of iron balls the kid had to say that to the Commander. Gendo himself was taken aback by his son's words, though his shock was mixed with anger towards the people who had been feeding him false information. The boy's guardian, the delightful Yui's brother, was a plain business man, and Gendo had made sure to pay the higher ups at the company to give Shinji's uncle the worst jobs, in order to help break his son's spirit by showing him the dreary existence that most likely awaited him.

And he had been receiving reports that had indicated success towards that end, though the information they contained was obviously falsified. Still, he couldn't help but feel a small amount of pride in the way his son handled himself. Shaking his ever so slightly he crushed that thought, he couldn't let himself fall from the Scenario, he _wouldn't _let himself. Instead he pointed towards the Eva.

"You are to be the Pilot for the Evangelion. The wielder of the greatest weapon mankind has ever created." Shinji stood frozen as his father's words registered. He couldn't help but look opened mouthed towards his father while he tried to construct a reasonable response. Misato though, had no such issues.

"I'm sorry sir, but are you out of your mind? Rei took nearly seven months to just activate her Eva, and you want some kid," She turned and gave Shinji an apologetic look,"no offense." Shinji gave an understanding nod, before returning to stare silently at his father, Misato doing the same, though not so quietly on her part. "Some kid that has never even heard of an Evangelion before today, to pilot one?"

Gendo frowned towards his subordinate, who was showing an uncharacteristic amount of disrespect towards his rank and position. "Unless you have a better idea, _Captain, _I suggest you let your superiors deal with things. Understood?" Misato swallowed nervously as she realized just how close she was to losing her job, before shakily giving a nod of the head. Satisfied that he wouldn't hear any more from Misato, Gendo turned his eyes towards his son.

"Now, are you going to pilot the Evangelion, or will I be forced to use, alternative methods?" Shinji blinked, while the part of his mind that had been trained and taught by the experiences of the town where he called home began to work overtime. A smile slowly made its way onto his face as a fiendish gleam came to his eyes, the sight causing Ritsuko to shiver as she look between father and son.

"Very well, Commander." Shinji spat out his father's apparent position as if it were something vile that had crawled into his mouth and died. "I'll pilot your weapon for you, like a good little soldier. But, I'm not going to do it out of the bottom of my heart, nor will I do it in the empty hopes of receiving any acceptance on your part." Gendo raised his brow, he had, even from just interacting with him for such a short period of time, been expecting to need to bring out Rei to push his son into piloting.

"Oh, so tell me boy, why will you pilot then?" While he kept his voice cool and controlled as always, there was still a hint curiosity in it. Shinji's smile turned into a downright vicious smirk at his father's question.

"I'm so glad you asked. You see, Aunty always told me that if your going to do a job, make sure your getting paid for it. So I want five hundred million yen, monthly, as well as a place to stay. Otherwise I'm perfectly willing to walk out of here and to never see you nor this NERV place ever again, though it'd be a damn shame, after all I'd be missing out on seeing Misato-san's beautiful looks, but that is a heavy burden I'm willing to bear." Shinji let out a dramatic sigh as he hunched over, while Misato fought down the blush that threatened to overtake her face, a feat made easier by the fact that she was still slightly stunned by the way the kid demanded to be paid more than she made Chief of TacOps.(1)

Gendo made a show of considering Shinji's surprisingly useful offer, as it gave him a much better way of controlling his son, using money instead of the boy's emotions, something that could have potentially backfired on him, especially with how different his son compared to the one he was expecting and planning on meeting with. "Very well, I'm sure your salary can be arranged, as well as suitable living quarters. Now then, Dr. Akagi." The good doctor stood straight as she was adressed. "Get the Eva prepped for deployment. Time is of the essence."

As if to illustrate his point a particularly large explosion racked the base, the shockwave sending several support columns tumbling down from the ceiling. Shinji looked up with wide eyes, before taking off at a dead sprint towards Misato. She had just begun to look up when Shinji crashed into her, his flying tackle sending the pair barely past the landing zone of the falling debris. Misato inhaled sharply as the dust cloud from the falling rubble cleared to reveal a massive pile of broken chunks of concrete and torn steel beams. Her action as served to point out to her a distinct weight on her chest, her registering of said sensation forcing her eyes downwards.

Misato was glad for the pile of rubble and the dust it had kicked up, as the dust on her face helped to conceal the blush that rose from the fact that Shinji had his arms thrown tightly around her waist, and his head nestled comfortably between what many of the workers called "The Two Most Powerful Weapons of NERV". Shinji groaned and began to get up, inadvertently placing his hands in front of him and pushing upwards, his hands just so happening to be atop Misato's breasts. Suffice to say, when Shinji tried to push himself upwards, only for his hands to sink into the soft and strangely warm surface beneath them, he reacted quite well.

In a blink Shinji had leaped backwards from his position, assuming a low stance while he panned his surroundings. Once he realized where he was, he relaxed, before stiffening as he saw Misato, and realized just who he had accidentally felt up. Sheepishly he walked forwards and offered Misato and hand up, as she had was still lying on the ground with a bemused expression that quickly gave way to a blush as she accepted his help and got to her feet. Misato let out a truly tremendous sigh of relief as she realized that the falling debris had thankfully cut off Ritsuko's line of sight, as she would have never heard the end of the teasing if that hadn't been the case.

She patted Shinji on the shoulder as she began to head towards the door. "Come on kid, we need to get you all prepped and ready to go." Shinji nodded and quickly moved to follow, though he stopped as soon as they reached the door.

"Uh, Misato, you do know where we're going this time, right?" Misato froze, before blushing as she pulled out her map of the facility. Thankfully for all parties, the ready room for the pilots was outlined with a directional markers along the floors and walls, which left little room for even Misato to get lost in.(2) After checking to make sure she had the right colour, as there different ones for the main labs, the bridge, and various other places in the facility. Though oddly enough, the only one missing was one directing to the Eva cage.

Misato chuckled sheepishly as she returned her map to her pocket. "Real funny kid. Now come on, we got places to be already." Shinji nodded, though he still kept his smirk up. As they walked down the hallway, Misato gave him a sidelong look. "By the way, I couldn't help but notice while you lying on top of me, but you seem pretty well built for a kid your age."

Shinji blinked and let his smirk slip, letting it be replaced by a embarrassed half smile. "S-sorry about that. But I couldn't think of any other way to get you clear." Misato gave him a beaming smile and a large pat on the back.

"Hey, lighten up, I'm not complaining. Consider the free touching you got payment for saving my life. But you still didn't answer my question." Shinji gave a sigh.

"Well, back home you need to be fit to survive, so I spend about as much time working out as I do working on my school work. Oh, could you hold onto something for me, while I'm piloting?" Misato nodded, her eyes curious as they followed Shinji's hands in pulling a simple black string from around his neck, her eyes widening in something approaching catatonic shock, as they saw the plain silver cross that dangled at the bottom of the string.

Shinji was completely unaware of Misato's reaction as he wrapped the string tightly around the cross, pausing a moment to rub the back of it, where there existed a small engraving. He sighed wistfully as he stared entranced with the dancing light reflecting off the silver. "This was my mother's you know? The last thing I have to remind me of her. She'd probably kill me if anything happened to it, so keep it safe alright?"

As Shinji held the wrapped cross out to her, Misato couldn't help but flinch as her mind overlapped another man's face, that of her father the last time she had seen him, over top of Shinji's. She blinked her eyes and the image vanished, leaving her still standing in the hallway at NERV, far away from collapsing research in memories. She smiled at Shinji, though it was a shaky and forced one, as she accepted his mother's necklace.

She carefully put it into one of her button-able pockets, to make sure to keep it from falling out or getting lost. Forcing herself forwards she started walking again pausing just a moment to make sure Shinji was following her before continuing on, her steps become more sure and her smile less forced as they covered more distance.

They quickly reached the door to the ready room and Misato stopped there. She took a step back and gave Shinji a push forwards. As he stumbled forwards she gave him a wink before turning to follow the directions to the Bridge. As she started walking, she called back to Shinji over her shoulder. "Good luck out there kid, we're counting on you." And with that Shinji pushed open the door and headed within.

* * *

Shinji sat within the Entry Plug, twiddling his thumbs as he tried to distract himself from the clips they had attached. While he waited, outside the technicians were running through the last few system checks, while a group of workers did a quick check over of the external equipment. After getting the all clear signal, Ritsuko smiled as she activated the communications to the Entry Plug. It was time for a little payback for the kid's earlier remarks.

"Shinji, were ready to begin, but first we have to ready to Entry Plug for synchronization." Shinji opened his mouth to ask what she meant when liquid began to fill the container, a liquid that had a distinct coppery aroma to it. Taste too, as he spat out a mouthful that landed on his tongue. He opened his mouth to let out a panicked protest, when the rest of the container was filled with the liquid as the pumps suddenly disgorged a tremendous downpour. Standing calmly at her terminal, Ritsuko let herself smirk smugly.

Shinji began vainly to try and hold his breath, and when he could he closed his eyes as he prepared himself to drown, wishing that he could have at least managed to do something with his life before this. When the light at the end of the tunnel failed to arrive as he expected, Shinji opened his eyes to find himself still floating within the Entry Plug, the liquid somehow allowing him to breath without air.

"Why the hell didn't I drown?" Shinji blinked in surprise at the fact that he could actually he his words clearly, something he was not expecting considering his lungs and surroundings were filled with liquid. He gave a start as a small screen appeared next to his head, the image of Dr. Akagi appearing clearly despite the surrounding liquid.

"You didn't drown because you are currently suspended within a special fluid designed to aid in synchronization, it not only oxygenates the blood and is breathable, but it will also cushion any impacts you might sustain." Shinji gave nod of appreciation, after all he'd hate to be bouncing around inside the Plug with nothing to soften the impacts, he'd end up pulped in no time.

"That's cool, but why does it have to be so much like blood, I mean, it smells like blood and tastes like it too." Ritsuko sighed, it wasn't the first time she had been asked that question, and it probably wouldn't be the last, but it certainly would do her no harm to run over it again.

"It's not blood, its a completely artificial fluid specially made for the purpose of aiding in piloting the Evangelion. And do you have any idea how much blood it would take to fill the Entry Plug anyway?" She couldn't help but add the last question in, her voice laden heavily with sarcasm. She, and the rest of the bridge crew were thus completely unprepared for Shinji's response.

"I dunno, maybe three or four adult males, give or take one or two." Those listening in on the conversation, something not hard to do considering it was being broadcast, quite loudly, across the bridge, stared at Shinji with slackened jaws or pale green faces. Misato was the first to recover, as she reached over grabbed a small microphone and ear-bud and thumbed them on.

"What in God's name gave you that kind of idea?" Shinji winced at the volume of her shouted demand. Chuckling weakly, he rubbed the back of his head as he began to explain.

"Weeell, a little while back a group of gangsters from one of the South American cartels came into town, and they stirred up a whole heapload of trouble with the local underworld. So, to send a message to any other outsiders, they gathered up all the gangsters and hung them by their feet before slitting their throats. At least all the gangsters that survived to be captured that is. And they had the leader of the gangsters in a class tank with a funnel on top, so all the blood ended flowing down and filling it. The boss ended up drowning in his own follower's blood."

Once more the bridge crew regarded Shinji with a stunned, and quite sickened, silence. Even his own father had paled with the seemingly nonchalant manner in which his son had spoken of such an atrocity. Misato gave him a half-lidded look as she considered just how much alcohol she would need to drink to forget about this day after she got home.

"You know kid, one day you're really gonna have to take me to this town of yours, it sounds like an absolute riot." She delivered her statement snarkily, to which Shinji couldn't but respond to with surprising cheer.

"Yeah we've had a couple of those too, riots that is. But they don't usually cause too much trouble, unless out of towners are involved, then things get kinda messy."

Misato contemplated trying to snipe a comment back at him, his cheerfulness grating on her nerves, but decided that it was more than time enough to get on with the reason he was in the Eva anyway. Stomping angrily over to the terminal, she gave it a look over before finding what she was looking for, the launch button conveniently placed in the middle and colored a nice bright red.

"Oh Shinji." The addressed pilot perked up as he heard his superior over the comm, "Launch time!" Before he could blink Misato slammed her palm down onto the button, and any response Shinji might of made died in his throat, before being sent downwards into his stomach from the intense G-forces his body was experiencing. All too soon he reached the surface and the rather abrupt stop caused his stomach to leap into his mouth.

Gritting his teeth, he turned to snap at Misato over the comm-link, but as he whirled around he caught sight of the Angel emerging from around the corner of a skyscraper, forcing him to shelve his response for later. Willing the Eva forwards, he nearly collapsed to the ground, but caught himself just in time, thanks to a handy nearby building that he used to brace himself.

Getting his feet under him, he turned to face the enemy, only to get a face-full of bright, painful energy. The beam slammed into him with the all the effect of a sledgehammer between the eyes, the Eva's, and by extension Shinji's, head snapping back and smashing into a nearby building. As he groggily got to his feet, he slipped and barely missed getting hit by another beam, this one packing a lot power behind it as it essentially vaporized the building behind Shinji, and the one behind that one too.

Shinji scrambled away as fast as possible, only fully getting to his feet once he was a fair distance away from the Angel. As he stood there recovering, he punched up the comm and began shouting at Misato.

"Dammit, why the hell didn't you tell me that thing could shoot fucking laser beams?" His eyes widened as he saw the Angel come into sight again, the Eva already in motion when the Angel turned to fully face Shinji's previous position, and thus out of the area when another one of the Angel's blasts slammed into the ground where the Eva had stood.

Shinji barely heard Misato shouting at Ritsuko over the comm, as she had also been unaware of that capability of the Angel. Shinji took a deep breath, only to exhale sharply as he saw the Angel floating midair, and turning towards him. Once again, he shot into motion, like a player in a sick and twisted version of laser tag.

"Do I have any weapons or anything?" He swore, that if anyone said no, then he would kill them later, damn the consequences. He couldn't help but let out a sigh of relief as Misato assured him that yes, the Eva did in fact possess weapons of its own. Quickly, he followed her instructions and retrieved the weapon, holding it out in front of him so that he could see it, only to begin twitching as he realized what exactly he was holding.

"Excuse, but how the hell is a dinky little knife supposed to help me against a flying laser cannon?" The question caused the bridge crew, sans Misato for once, to blink, as they hadn't thought about that. Misato on the other hand, was smiling toothily as she stared at the stats displayed on screen.

"Shinji, listen to me, okay? The Angel seems to have taken up an anchored position in the air, and it doesn't look likes it planning on doing anything other than turning to face you. That dinky little knife, as you oh so kindly put it, is designed to penetrate the Angel's AT field. So tell me, how good are you at throwing knives?" She finished off with a crazed grin, a grin that Shinji shared as he stared at the knife with newfound interest.

After dodging another Angel blast, he ducked behind a building before testing the balance on the knife. One of his Uncle's friends had taught him how to properly throw a knife a couple of years ago, the trick being in finding the point at which the blade will twist around, and calculating how many spins it needed to end up going into the target blade first.

Smirking, Shinji swung out from behind the skyscraper he had been crouched behind, the Angel already swiveling to face him. Shinji could see the light beginning to gather in the center of the red gem that the Angel seemed to have grown around, and finding his target he quickly tossed the Prog knife, flicking his wrist at the last second to add the necessary spin.

With baited breath, he and the bridge crew all watched as the blade tumbled end over end, before it embedded itself into the Angel's core. For a long moment, it almost seemed like the Angel stared down at its own chest, and the blade protruding from it, with intense disbelief, before looking up to see the face of its killer. Then the moment was lost, as the world turned white.

* * *

Shinji opened his eyes and he couldn't help but feel confused by the white ceiling he was greeted by. Frowning as he sat up, he looked around himself, unsurprised to find all the equipment and general accessories of a hospital room. He looked down at himself and quickly cast a look out around the room for any observers before checking to see if he was dressed, which, of course, he wasn't.

It was to this scene, that of Shinji with the sheet lifted in both hands and his eyes pointed down, that Misato and Ritsuko walked in on. If Shinji had been in a hospital room anywhere else than NERV, than he would have heard the sound of the door opening, but considering the fact that NERV had some of the most advanced technology available, and because of how much Gendo enjoyed terrifyin his staff with surprise appearances, practically all the doors in the facility operated with complete silence.

Misato, being Misato, she couldn't pass up such a prime opportunity for teasing. "Hey Shinji, me and Ritsy just wanted to come check and see how you were doing, but I can see we're interrupting, so we'll come back later." Shinji, who's head had snapped up when Misato had first spoken, quickly put the sheet back down, his cheeks flushing red in embaressment.

Standing at Misato's side, Ritsuko allowed herself a quiet chuckle, and while she didn't always approve of her friend's antics, she definitely didn't mind getting a little indirect payback for Shinji's earlier comments. "Well, Misato's unhealthy interest in your personal actions aside, we did come to see how you were doing. You gave us quite a nasty scare when the Angel tossed that last blast at you, somehow it managed to carry the Prog knife with it, and the knife caught the Eva hilt-first in the head. From what we could tell, the feedback was higher than we expected for your first synchronization and we didn't have all the proper empathy filters on."

Shinji blinked, before he deciphered the meaning behind Dr. Akagi's words, the somewhat sheepish expression on her face as she mentioned the filters helping him to reach the proper conclusion. Smiling, he rubbed the back of his neck with one hand, the other waving off Ritsuko's concern. "Ah, it was mostly that it caught me unaware is all that happened, it's not like I haven't had worse, in fact," He paused before rubbing his chin in thought, "I know I have had worse. The blast, and getting hit with the knife, was _way_ less painful than any of the time's I got shot."

Misato's jaw dropped as Shinji causally dropped that little bomb. Ritsuko on the other hand merely raised a brow, she had seen the scars and various other evidence of past physical trauma that spotted his body when she was doing her diagnosis, but had made sure not to mention anything until she could talk to Shinji. And though the fact that he had gotten shot was appalling in and of itself, the way in which he mentioned it put to rest the more disturbing possibilities her mind had conjured as to the quality of his guardians, though their responsibility was still in question.

"What the hell is a kid like you doing that's getting him shot at in the first place?" Both Shinji and Ritsuko shared a wince at the volume of Misato's shout. A shout that Ritsuko was proud to notice contained more than a little bit of concern for Shinji. In Ritsuko's mind it was more than about time that Misato started to care for someone outside of her, quite small, circle of friends, all of her family long dead.

"Well, it's kind of a part of the charm of home. Sure things can get a bit ugly at times, but its never boring, heck it makes most tv shows dull in comparison." Misato still wasn't happy with Shinji's answer and continued to press her point.

"You still haven't answered my question yet. What were you doing, no better yet, where the hell were you living that you were involved in stuff like that?"

Shinji closed his eyes and tensed up underneath the sheet, the movements going largely unnoticed by the other two in the room. "It's a nice place along the coast of Thailand actually, a port city called Roanipur." Misato's jaw dropped as she stumbled backwards in shock. Ritsuko gave a strange look, while wondering what it was that she was missing.

"Y-you live in that hell-hole? Is whoever raised you _insane?_" Again, Shinji winced, though this time it was due more to the fact that he occasionally questioned his Uncle's general mental well-being himself.

"Er, its not that bad once you get used to all the shooting and stuff."

"Shooting and stuff huh? I bet there's a lot of shooting, considering how much happens in that town, I swear, the whole world went crazy after Second Impact, I swear it!" Ritsuko leaned in and interrupted before Misato could get too much momentum behind her.

"Excuse me, but for those of use who don't know every little place on the map, we could use a little help here." Misato blinked and cast a glance at Ritsuko, having forgotten she was present.

"Allow me to explain, Roanipur is lawless city that's home to the worst of the worst of people, and its ruled over by three major criminal organizations. Hell the local government won't get involved with anyone that comes out of that place, no matter what they do. You remember a couple years back there was a big stir in news about a group of pirates that had raided a luxury cruise liner?"

Ritsuko frowned but nodded, that particular incident had made international news, especially considering the fact that no-one tracked down the pirates responsible, nor did any local coast guard or naval ships respond to the liner's distress calls. "Yes, it was quite big news for a while, but then it simply petered out when nothing seemed to be happening with it."

"That's because those ships were all well known associates of the largest of the three organizations, a splinter group of the Russian Mafiya that's mostly made up of former military men and women, and wwll known for their ruthless tactics against any competition. Unfortunately, no-one knows who runs the operation except for those who deal with whoever he or she is, or those who live in Roanipur. And so far no-one's been willing to talk."

Sighing, Misato let herself fall backwards into one of the chairs along the wall near the door. Ritsuko stood where she was, looking between Misato and Shinji with surprise and a small amount of curiousity. Curiousity as to what Shinji's life was like, and curiousity directed towards Misato's surprising knowledge. She gave her head a shake as she looked down at the chart in her hands.

"Anyway, other than a few previous marks, your body is in tip-top shape and you can leave any time." Shinji gave a small breath of relief, and he began to move to vacate the hospital bed, getting more than half-way before he realized that both Misato and Ritsuko were still standing there. He froze, and his head turned stutteringly towards them, before his eyes caught sight of a his bag on a nearby table.

Before they could blink, Shinji grabbed the bag and ducked behind a nearby curtain to get dressed, unavoidably giving the women a free show. Misato raised a brow, still too concerned about Shinji's previous habitation to try to tease him, while Ritsuko couldn't but give an impressed whistle, she had seen his 'equipment' when she was checking his body earlier, but she knew the good stuff from the bad, and after that one time she had gotten drunk and slept with the commander, and what an utter mistake that had been, she hadn't been expecting anything like, _that, _on his son.

As Ritsuko compared Shinji against the various other, conquests, in her life, Misato was thinking about a different matter, that held no less import for her. The Commander had already told them, when they had met with him after the battle and recovery of Unit-01, that Shinji would not be staying with him, and considering how well the two had gotten along together when they had met in the hangar, Misato couldn't blame him for wanting to keep a healthy distance from his son, though part of her felt otherwise, considering how little she could remember of her own mother and how she clung to her father when she was younger.

But she couldn't, in any good conscience, leave Shinji on his own in the NERV employee bunking, it was no place for a teenager, no matter who he was. And it also wouldn't be good for him to be without a positive role model, although she wasn't sure quite yet how his Uncle rated, but that didn't mean there wasn't someone who couldn't take him in with them. She ran through those she was familiar with and immediately crossed most of them off the list, it wasn't a dig at them, but they didn't have the necessary skills for raising a teenager. The only three she could think of were Ritsuko, who was probably a bad choice considering how little time she actually spent at her apartment, Sub-Commander Fuyutsuki, who again most likely wouldn't be a good choice, although for him it was because the Commander would veto that idea, which left her.

Misato froze in her seat, feeling caught off guard by that possibility. There wasn't anything too wrong with her taking him in, but she was pretty sure that she'd be a bad role model for the kid. A flirtatious alcoholic who couldn't drink enough Lethean elixir to get rid of her bad memories, if she took the kid in he'd probably end up getting a liver transplant by the time he was her age. Either that or he'd be dead from her cooking within the week.

But if she was honest with herself, having him stay with her would probably do her some good as well. It would be nice to have someone else in the apartment, other than Penpen of course, but she could get more than a little lonely. Her face slowly settled into a content smile as she mentally nodded to herself. She pulled out her UPad, built by Orange, and quickly typed in a few lines and signed off her signature before closing it and putting it away.

As she stood up, Shinji came out from behind the curtain, his eye twitching as Misato practically stuffed her hand into her mouth to keep from laughing at the bright pink and green Hawaiian shirt he had on. "Oh laugh it up, Onee-san switched up my clothing when I wasn't looking alright. It's not like I wanted to wear this."

Misato couldn't help the snicker that escaped her, but Ritsuko managed to keep herself much more controlled, enough so that she could ask about something that Shinji said that bothered her. "Shinji, I thought you were an only child, correct?"

Shinji paused in his annoyed patting of his shirt to look up at Ritsuko. "Huh, oh yeah, there's just me. But back home there are a couple of girls, one of them who works with my Uncle, and they wouldn't let me call them anything else, couple times I did earned me a bump of the head, that or they'd steal my clothes or stuff along those lines. This particular piece is Revy-neechan's work, and I probably shouldn't have swapped out the ammo for blanks in her guns last time we played paintball."

Misato chuckled as she casually draped an arm over Shinji's shoulders. "You know, you're really going to have to introduce me to your friends one day, they sound like really interesting people. Once you get all your stuff together I'll take you to where you'll be staying, that good with you?" Shinji shrugged, before he smiled teasingly.

"Sure thing, but I'm the one who gets to drive, I don't want to die in a car accident just after killing a giant rampaging monster." With that he ducked out from under Misato's arm and scooted out the door, Misato following closely behind him.

"Hey, get back here you! I'll have you know my driving's not that bad! Are you even listening to me? You litt-" Ritsuko laughed out loud as the door closed, cutting off Misato's shouting. That pair was simply two of a kind, and she wasn't sure who would end up having a heart attack first, her or the Commander. Still laughing quietly as she turned off the lights, she almost wasn't surprised when the intercom began to page her.

* * *

As Misato and Shinji walked down the hallway to her apartment, they were surprised to see several large boxes and one especially large crate stacked next to Misato's door. Misato let out an impressed snort. "I'm surprised they got your stuff here so quickly, ah well we can move it in after dinner. Welcome to home sweet home."

Shinji stepped in and fumbled around in the dark before finding the light switch, turning it only to immediately wish he hadn't. He'd seen the inside of Revy's room once, and even that mess paled in comparison to the horror that unfolded before his eyes. Frozen where he stood, Misato easily stepped past him and moved into the apartment, absently tossing her keys into a small bowl near the door.

"Come in and make yourself at home. And I'm sorry about the mess, but I wasn't expecting a guest anytime soon, or I'd have cleaned up a little. Your room's down the hall and to the left, and mine's at the end of the hall. " Misato's voice called out from the kitchen. Shinji opened his mouth to say something, but thought better of it and instead turned to grab some of his stuff.

As he stepped through the detritus that littered the floor, he couldn't help but wonder if maybe he would have been better of staying at NERV. HE shrugged as he set down the last of the smaller boxes, it was too late to change anything now, so he might as well not let it get him down. He paused in his walk back to the main door, when he was hit with the aroma of food cooking, which for some reason surprised him. He just chocked it up to Misato not quite like the kind of woman who would cook, but considering the fact that she lived alone, he shouldn't have been so surprised. As he stepped past the door, he heard Misato's voice call out from the kitchen.

"Hey Shinji! Once this is done cooking I'll come out and help with that big crate, okay?" Shinji smiled and moved to go sit at the table, he hadn't been expecting the offer for help, but it was definitely appreciated.

"Sure thing. By the way, what are you making?" Shinji called back as he sat down. Instead of immediately responding, Misato came out of the kitchen with two steaming bowls of what looked like curry. Smiling she set them down before quickly ducking back into the kitchen, coming back with a couple of cans of took a look at her poison of preference with a a frown, before digging into his duffel bag, which he had tossed near the sofa when he had come in, and pulled out a small bottle.

He set it down on the table, accidentally bumping it against his bowl, the noise causing Misato to look up from her food. Lifting her spoon, she pointed at the bottle as Shinji reached down and pulled out a couple of shot glasses. "What's that?" Shinji chuckled at Misato's question.

"It's a drink." Misato shot him a withering look, before heaving a dramatic sigh.

"I know that, I meant what _kind _of drink, and don't go giving me another generalization either." Shinji shook his head in amusement as he carefully opened the bottle.

"It was supposed to be a gift to my father for what I had originally figured was an attempt to reconcile our relationship, now that it's obvious that's not the case, I figured we might as well share a celebratory drink over my victory against the Angel, unless you'd rather let it go to waste?" Shinji smirked as one of the shot glasses disappeared, only to re-materialize in Misato's raised hand. "Guess not, anyway make sure you take your time and enjoy it, finding good scotch like this is hard to do, especially if it was made pre-Second Impact. Cheers!"

Before Misato could protest, Shinji raised his glass and drank his shot glass. She opened her mouth to offer her view on the subject, but decided that her time was better spent drinking and put back her own shot, after all who was she to talk. She set her glass down and Shinji was immediately refilling it. As she downed another shot, she couldn't help but think that maybe having him around wouldn't be so bad after all, as well as noting that she really owed his Uncle Rokurō Ikari a drink of his own.

* * *

**An Omake**, of sorts.

"Behold the defender of humanity, the Evangelion!"

Shinji stared stunned before pointing at his father.

"Oh my God, you're the Freakin' King Otaku!"

Gendo stared down from his office filled with cat-girl posters with a steady glare.

"Damn right I'm the King." And all of NERV bowed...

* * *

**Another Omake**, this one with a bit more thought behind it...

If Sawyer met Rei:

Sawyer stared at the girl seated across from her, one of her little brother's friends if she recalled correctly.

Rei stared at the woman sitting opposite herself, she was one of Pilot Ikari's friends she thought.

"..."

*Rei blinked her eyes*

"..."

"..."

*Sawyer blinked*

"..."

Finally they both shared a small smile as they stood up and went their own separate ways. Leaving those watching completely confused as to what just happened. The only thing Rei would share on the matter was the rather odd comment of, "She was a, a nice conversationalist."

* * *

**The, why I did not include this scene, Omake.**

"It seems that finally the Angels have returned. "

"Yes, the moment we've been waiting so long for has finally come. Would you like the honours?"

"Thank you old friend." Gendo stood up and cleared his throat. "Ladies and Gentlemen, Shit just got Real."

* * *

**The, It could have been worse, Omake.**

Gendo frowned, he had been hoping that he wouldn't have to resort to such measures, but he was prepared. "Retrieve the First Child."

Ritsuko's eyes widened in shock." But He's still injured from his failure to activate Unit-00! How can we expect him to-" she cut off as Gendo leveled his glare at her.

At the sounds of a door opening, those gathered in the hangar turned to face the source of the sound, Shinji cocking his head to the side as a gurney was wheeled in. Once it got close enough for him to see the features on the figure lying on it, he froze. Twitching, he reached around Misato's waist and deftly relieved her of her pistol without anyone noticing.

Then, before anyone could react, he aimed and fired, slamming a shot fight into the forehead of the mini-Gendo clone that was on the gurney, before turning and squeezing off another pair of shots at his father. As his father slumped to the ground, clutching at his chest, he raised a hand to Shinji.

"W-why?"

Shinji stared wordlessly at his father. And during that final stare, he died. And there was much rejoicing.

* * *

Yeah, no idea where that first Omake came from. The last one came to me while I was reading the Usagi Evil scenes from Shinji Powers, a fic that never got off the ground by DB Sommer. Anyway, hope you liked them.

(1) *sweatdrops* Guess I've been reading too much Harrington lately. Ah well, David Weber is one hell of an author.

(2) Ryoga Hibiki on the other hand, would have gotten lost at least three times before even exiting the Eva hangar.

So as you can see, this won't be a curbstomping god-like Shinji, he'll get some licks, but he'll keep on going until the jobs done. And I also decided to flesh out Misato's background a bit more, to give her a touch more flavour. After all, I can't imagine that she got her position at NERV simply because she was Ritsuko's friend and she had been on the expedition that caused Second impact. Although, considering the original series, that's probably what happened. XP

And you can also see that I'm laying the ground work for some interesting possibilities later on. *Smirks* Oh I just can't wait till Kaji meets up with this version of Misato.

Hope you liked it,

Fellgrave.


	2. Chapter 2

Misato cursed herself, repeatedly and in as many languages as she was familiar with, as well a few that she picked up select words of, as her head pounded from yet another hangover. As she stumbled out of bed she wondered just what had driven her to hit the alcohol so hard the night before, as it was rare for her to have such a painful hangover, having become relatively immune to their effects after repeated exposure.

As she walked towards the kitchen in search of the necessary ingredients for her tried-and-true hangover cure, she couldn't help but notice the delectable aroma of someone preparing breakfast. Wearily, she blinked in surprise as she tried to recall whether or not she had invited someone over, as her friends all had their own homes to return to, and she wasn't in the habit of picking up someone from the bar, except on those rare occasions when it was necessary to pick up her spirits in a way that plain drinking couldn't.

As she stepped into the kitchen she stopped quite suddenly, confused and surprised by the sight of a teenager bustling around as if he were working the rush hour at a restaurant. For a moment she entertained the thought that she might have hit the drink far too hard the night previous and had done something thats society would consider, unhealthy. But as she stood there, her memories of the night, and the eventful day that had preceded it, slowly filtered back into her mind and calmed her nerves.

She refrained from moving, content to watch as Shinji moved around the kitchen with an economy of movement and easy familiarity that seemed out of place on a teenager. It took Shinji a little while for him to actually notice her arrival, after which his body locked up in surprise for a moment before casually resumed cooking, his eyes directed pointedly away from her and a touch of red on his cheeks. After a couple of minutes it became clear to Shinji that Misato was more than happy to simply stand watching him, and he discretely coughed into hand before speaking into the air.

"G-good morning Misato. Breakfast will be ready in a minute if you, er, want to get dressed?"

Misato gave him a strange look, before she blinked her eyes and looked down at her self, her mind snapping out of its fog as a blush formed on her cheeks. In her hungover state she had forgotten that she usually slept nude, save for the skimpy pair of underwear she wore under her uniform. Faster than Shinji would have thought possible, though not fast enough for him to fail to notice the jagged scar that ran underneath her breasts, Misato had retreated from the kitchen and closed the door to her room.

Penpen chose that moment to make his presence known as he exited his home, only to give a curious squawk as he stared at his mistress' door. Shinji gave the bird an odd look that the penguin returned, before Shinji sighed and grabbed some fish out of the freezer to toss into the frying pan. "You know what, after everything else I've seen, I really shouldn't be so surprised anymore."

Penpen gave him the avian equivalent of a shrug as he headed towards the bathroom, returning to his mini-fridge briefly to retrieve his towel. Just as the penguin was entering the bathroom, Misato exited her own room, now fully dressed; though the word fully might not have been the most accurate, considering the length of her shorts and the loose, midriff baring top she had on where just a few degrees shy of being indecent.

As she sat down at the table, Shinji quickly plated the food he had been cooking and carried it over to the table. Misato raised an appreciative brow as she looked over the pile of western style food on her plate. She put a small forkful tentatively into her mouth and nearly gasped as flavour exploded like a sunburst across her taste-buds.

She lowered the fork and stared at it as if it had betrayed her; while across from her, Shinji bit his lip to keep from laughing. He had known he was good at cooking, something he had needed to learn to avoid eating Revy's attempts to make edible food. The one time he had asked her about her lack of talent in the kitchen, she had simply told him that it ran in her family, and then she let him take over cooking for the crew of the Black Lagoon without a word more after tasting his own food.

Shrugging, Misato returned to eating, doing so slowly, so as to truly enjoy the food. She paused for a moment and gestured towards Shinji with her fork, a piece of egg accidentally flying off and landing on his own plate. "Listen kid, while I appreciate this, I think we need to set up some ground rules and organize things." She took a bite of her food and swallowed before adding another point. "Oh, and you are sure as hell splitting the rent with me, got it?"

Shinji laughed at the look Misato gave him, but nevertheless nodded his agreement. The pair continued eating in silence, Shinji getting up and retrieving Penpen's fish when the bird finally made it out of the bathroom, until Shinji froze as he remembered something. With a slightly odd expression on his face, he put his fork down and leaned back in thought.

"Hey Misato, were there any boxes left to be delivered?" Misato gave him a curious look before shaking her head. She waited to finish chewing and swallowing her current mouthful before she responded.

"Nope, everything that was outside the door last night was everything that was coming. Why, is something missing?" Shinji nodded slowly.

"Yeah, I'm missing some of my more important possessions; plus, I got a note in my bag saying that everyone back home had sent along their own little gifts for me, since I'm not likely to be back in time for my birthday." Misato paused and furrowed her brow in thought.

"Well, did you check _that _yet?" _That_ was the crate the pair had hauled inside the night before. Taller than the doorway and about as wide as the fridge, the crate had required Misato to retrieve a dolly from the landlords office before they could maneuver it into the apartment. They had set it next to Misato's sofa and both had promptly forgotten about it; though their lapse could be forgiven as they had shared a very trying day. Shinji shook his head.

"No, and I wasn't sure why they sent whatever was in there anyway. It's not like I own anything that big; although," he paused as a thoughtful look crossed his face,"Sawyer-neechan did say she was working on a special project for me."

Misato blinked as she got up and carried her plate over to the sink. "Sawyer-neechan?" Misato almost jumped in her skin as Shinji suddenly appeared next to her and put his own plates into the sink.

"Yeah, Sawyer-neechan owns the local meat-shop. Plus, she does some specialty stuff on the side." Misato began to nod, only to stop partway through the motion, the nature of where Shinji had grown up once again reasserting itself in her mind.

"Specialty stuff? Wait," she held up a hand to forestall Shinji's response, "I'm pretty sure that whatever it is she does I'm better off not knowing." Shinji looked like he wanted to argue the point, but he held his silence as he and Misato continued to clean the dishes. Finally, after they had finished cleaning the dishes, Misato grabbed a crowbar and got to work opening the crate.

With a loud crash the front side of the crate broke off and tumbled to the ground. Misato and Shinji both moved around until they could see inside the opened crate, both of them regarding the contents with a sense of confusion. Shinji's jaw worked silently for a moment before he found the words to best describe his current feelings.

"What... the hell?"

Standing inside the crate, almost tauntingly, was a tall black coffin, its lid was decorated with an ornate silver cross, with a large red gem cut into a vaguely eye-like shape set in the center of the cross. All in all, it was an absolutely beautiful piece of art, albeit an exceptionally morbid one. As both Misato and Shinji stared at the coffin with suspicion, Shinji noticed a small sticky-note attached to the engraved silver cross.

Pulling it off, he gave it a quick glance, before he actually registered what was written on the small piece of paper. His face broke out into a wide smile as he handed the paper to a curious Misato.

"Dear Shinji-kun, looks like your present arrived safe and sound. Sawyer's been harping at me to get you a gift too (which I don't think you need, but since you probably had to leave your stuff here, I sent it anyways) so I went and had a chat with Yolanda about getting you some new toys. Everyone else put in a few things too. I left my gift in your new bed (yes, the coffin is actually a bed, creepy right?) and the rest are being held by a friend at a little place called the Spider's Hall, I'm sure you can find some time during the day when you can slip off and pick it up.

Oh, and make sure you don't get yourself killed, we've been hearing a few rumours about where your old man is working, so stay safe, will ya?

Your wonderful big sis, Revy.

P.S. Your "Aunt's" (Still can't believe you got her to let you call her that) gift is gonna take a while to get there, but it should arrive before your birthday, I think."

Misato stared incredulously at the sheet before turning her eyes to Shinji. He stood near the coffin with a curious look on his face as he tried to figure out if he was actually supposed to use the coffin as a bed or not. "Shinji," Misato began, her voice flat, "do you happen to know just what exactly the Spider's Hall is?"

Shinji shook his head as he leaned closer to the coffin, his hands running over the edges in search of a latch or release. Misato sighed as she stepped forward and grabbed the top corner of the coffin, Shinji taking her lead and grabbing the bottom. The pair grunted as they lifted the heavy 'bed' out of the crate and hauled it into Shinji's room. If the coffin was in fact a bed, then it would be quite convenient, as Misato had never gone out and purchased more than the one she had needed for her own room. NERV was to supply the necessary furnishings later, but she could call them off if Shinji decided to keep the morbid gift.

As the pair set it down, Shinji bent over it in a renewed search for the key to opening it, while Misato backed up and leaned against the wall, a blank expression on her face. "Shinji," the oddly subdued sound of her usually quite energetic voice caused Shinji to pause and look towards Misato, "the Spider's Hall is, though most people don't know it, the local headquarters for an incredibly dangerous crime syndicate. Please, tell me what your 'sister' thinks is a good reason to let you go there?"

As the gears in Shinji's mind ground together at a breakneck pace in the hopes of churning out an answer, he leaned against the coffin and rested his hand against the jewel set into the cross, only to jump in surprise as the gem depressed slightly under the applied pressure. Shinji and Misato watched cautiously as a hidden catch was triggered, Misato quietly drawing her service pistol and thumbing off the safety, the lid popping upwards slightly as a cloud of compressed air was vented outwards.

Shinji tentatively reached forwards, pausing for a moment to check if Misato was ready for him to open the coffin, a terse nod signing her assent. Eyes closed against a possible flash grenade rigged as a booby-trap inside, something that Eda-neechan had pulled on him more than once, Shinji grabbed the edge of the coffin's lid and gave it a quick tug, the lid swinging upwards on hidden hinges as Shinji stepped backwards and to the side.

The insides of the coffin were concealed as a cloud of white smoke rose up. Misato kept her pistol steady, though it was unlikely to do her much good if the coffin contained a bomb or something similar, as she and Shinji waited for the smoke to clear. Once the smoke had cleared, Shinji and Misato both approached the coffin, taking in the strange arrangement of wires and open containers of liquid in the bottom of the coffin, beside which were a couple of small boxes and a duffle bag.

Shinji studied the containers carefully, before an idea struck him as he leaned over to run a finger across the edge of the coffin, his finger coming off with a visible residue. He chuckled as he wiped the residue off on his pants, Misato giving him an curious look as she flicked the safety back on and slid her pistol back into its holster. Shinji carefully picked up one of the containers before he offered it to Misato.

At her continued confusion, Shinji gestured to the wires that ran along the edges of the coffin. "The coffin was rigged to release dry ice into water when it was unlocked." Shinji smiled widely as he pulled out the small boxes and stacked them by the side of the coffin. "I pulled the same trick on Eda-neechan once, finally looks like she got me back for rigging her underwear drawers."

Misato gave Shinji a double-take as she opened the window and dumped out the contents of the container in hand, idly noting some girl shouting about cold water from down below. "So, you rigged one of your nee-chans' underwear drawer with dry ice? I can see why she'd be upset about that."

Shinji chuckled as he unzipped the duffle bag. "True, but you'd think a thirty-something FBI agent would have a bit more maturity than to get me back with the same trick after three years." Misato froze and forced herself to take a calming breath, in the hopes of containing the rather insane sounding laughter that threatened to bubble up and out of her chest.

"So," Misato began after she had reached a point where she was reasonably assured her voice would not crack, "one of your sister figures is an FBI agent, another runs a meat shop which deals in questionable meats, and another that thinks you'll be perfectly fine in a den of criminals and mercenaries. Have I mentioned anything about how absolutely crazy your whole family is?"

Shinji paused with one hand in the bag as he reached up with his other to rub his chin. "You know what, I don't think you have really. Besides, Revy-nee knows I'll be fine, if anything, it'll be whoever decides I'm an easy mark who'll be in trouble."

Misato opened her mouth to question his statement, only to have it drop as Shinji pulled out a pair of matte-black semi-automatic pistols, oddly enough Stechkin APS models with extended magazines, both obviously custom made and far more expensive than her own HK USP, though her .45 variant probably packed a bigger punch. Shinji seemed almost oblivious to the way she stared as he casually spun them around like an old western gunslinger, pausing in his movements to check the safety and firing mechanism. With another flourish he vanished the pistol's into the sleeves of his shirt.

Misato's jaw continued to work soundlessly for a moment before she heaved a loud and tired sigh. "A screw it, this is too much for me to deal with sober." She tiredly began to knead her forehead between her fingers as she headed towards the kitchen.

"Hey Shinji-kun," she shouted back as she opened up the cabinets and retrieved a glass, unaware of the endearment she had added to her charge's name, "I hope you don't mind but I'm going to finish of that scotch of yours, so if you want any, you'd better hurry up and get your butt out here."

Back in his room, Shinji smiled as he put down his opened and as of yet unopened gifts, a little skip in his step as he walked out and grabbed the bottle from his guardian before she could empty it into her larger than usual glass. Things in Tokyo-Three seemed pretty similar to back home, and he even lived with someone who could drink Uncle and Revy-neechan under the table, at least considering the fact that she actually managed to drink most of the bottle the previous evening, before he had switched it out for one of her own cheaper bottles of liquor after they had reached the point where they could no longer truly taste what they were drinking.

As he swung back his shot, he couldn't help but wonder what Dr. Akagi would think when he and Misato came in for his tests in a few hours.

* * *

Surprisingly enough, Misato actually seemed to be a much better driver while she wasn't sober, as her awareness of her state of mind led her to slow down while driving, something that Shinji would later swear to make sure happened without the alcohol if he wanted to live to a healthy age. When they had arrived at NERV Misato's slight inebriation made her slightly more pliable and let Shinji lead her to the medical center without much fuss.

Dr. Akagi had not been amused when Shinji entered her office, followed closely by a slightly tipsy Misato. His suspicions about how she would react actually seemed pretty much spot on; she had been about to explode at Misato until Shinji had stepped forwards to explain that he was the one who had both provided and begun drinking. Suffice to say, Dr. Akagi still seemed ready to skin Misato for engaging in inappropriate behavior in front of an impressionable minor, never mind the fact that where he had lived he had probably seen much worse.

Ritsuko had set down her friend in a nearby chair and given her some prototype pills and a glass of water to help flush the alcohol from her system; the pills having been developed for exactly the current situation. Shinji meanwhile had stripped down to his boxers for a physical check-up to make sure he had suffered no lasting effects from piloting the Evangelion. Ritsuko had quietly locked her office behind as she walked over to the examination room, unaware of the computers connected to the cameras in the exam room that she had left running.

Shinji cupped a hand around his mouth as he let out a tired yawn. A quiet cough from behind him caused him to jump to his feet in surprise. He blushed as he found a still somewhat upset Ritsuko Akagi standing behind him, a clipboard and pen in hand, and one brow raised in amusement. She rolled her eyes as she gestured towards a scale that had been set up against one of the walls.

Shinji shrugged as he stepped up onto the scale, grimacing slightly as the needle swung past one-seventy. While he didn't mind his weight per-say, he had found that most people who were aware of it would give him the occasional odd looks, as he appeared to be closer to one-twenty at most. A part of it was his height, which, as he had seen so far, was quite unusual for his age, as his eyes were level with Misato's neckline most of the time, keyword being most. He also owed his incredibly active lifestyle for the lack of excess fat on his body.

He couldn't help but smile when Dr. Akagi simply looked at the measurement and wrote it down without commenting on it. Once she had measured his height as well, Shinji was directed to several different machines whose purpose was a mystery to him. A couple bore passing similarities to X-ray machines or CATscanners, but only in the sense that they were doing something that he couldn't actually see.

A few tests for general fitness, running on a treadmill while connected to various sensors, as well as more specific fitness, such as how much he could bench-press comfortably, and he was done. He though he saw a flash of surprise on Dr. Akagi's face as he easily lifted the two-twenty pound set of weights, but the moment of emotion passed quickly as her face returned to its time-for-business expression, which is how Misato would later tell him she called the serious look on her friend's face, at least whenever she was out of her friend's hearing, most of the time.

Shinji finished the last set of exercises and gratefully accepted the towel and bottle of water Ritsuko tossed to him. She couldn't help but raise an appreciative eyebrow as Shinji casually removed his sweat-soaked shirt and began to dry off. While she was fully aware of her patient's age, she couldn't help but let the fact slip her mind, as not only was Shinji a very attractive teenager, his appearance seemed closer in fitting with a man half a decade his senior. Her eyes began to cloud as her eyes traced Shinji's glistening musculature, her tongue darting out to wet her suddenly dry lips.

Her eyes cleared with a blink as Shinji retrieved a shirt and put it back on, Ritsuko idly noticing the fact that it was the same shirt he come in wearing earlier. Once again she was glad that she had spent so much time working on controlling her facial expressions, as she would have likely been betrayed by the burgeoning blush she could feel rising beneath the surface.

"Ahem," she rather loudly cleared her throat as she refocused her mind. "Shinji, could you perhaps explain why Misato wants you to take the marksmanship test normally reserved for NERV's Section Two agents?" Ritsuko was curious, as Shinji didn't strike her as someone who knew how to use a gun, but Misato had been insistent on adding the test into Shinji's medical examination.

Shinji cocked his head to the side as a smile tugged at the corners of his mouth. "Well, there's this place I want to visit, but Misato won't let me go without being sure I can take care of myself." Ritsuko frowned as Shinji gave her a shrug of his shoulders. "Personally I think it's perfectly safe, but she _is_ my guardian, so I suppose listening to her once in a while is the proper thing to do."

Ritsuko's frown faded as she shared a chuckle with Shinji at Misato's expense. "Of course it would be. I guess there isn't too much harm in letting you run through the first part of the test, so why don't I show you to the firing range." For a moment Ritsuko froze and shivered, a strange chill running up and down her spine, as Shinji turned and fixed her with a wide smile.

Then the moment was passed and she quickly moved to lead Shinji to the firing range. Up in the observation booth, Misato couldn't help but smirk as she watched Shinji smile at her friend, her eyes easily noticing the near full-body blush that overtook Ritsuko as soon as she was ahead of Shinji. One never could have too much blackmail material after all.

* * *

"Shinji," Ritsuko's voice crackled slightly over the intercom,"the first part of the test is relatively simple. You will be provided with a firearm and there will be a set of targets that will appear downrange. All you have to do is shoot them. You'll have thirty seconds and as many reloads as you need." Down on the firing range Shinji turned and nodded towards the observation booth, though he couldn't see past the opaque glass.

Within, Ritsuko set down the microphone as she turned to face her friend. "Don't you have work you should be doing?"

Misato gave a snort of derision. "Nah, I got all that done yesterday while I was waiting for the kid to wake up. 'Sides, like hell I'd want to miss this." She gestured towards where Shinji was fumbling around with the supplied Glock 17. Ritsuko took a look at what Shinji was doing and chuckled to herself.

"Oh yes, a regular Billy the Kid he is." Misato glanced towards Shinji, catching sight of the quickly hidden smirk on his face as a wry smile grew across her own face.

Misato leaned towards Ritsuko, who quirked a brow up at her friends antics. "Say, why don't we make ourselves a little bet. If Shinji does better than needed to pass, you owe..." Misato trailed off as she tried to think of an appropriate prize, Ristuko rolling her eyes as Misato tapped a finger against her lip in thought.

"Aha!" Misato snapped her fingers as an idea struck her. "If Shinji, and by extension myself, wins, then you owe us a reservation at Green Mountain, and to be nice, I'll even let you join us." Ritsuko spluttered for a moment. Green Mountain was one of Tokyo-Three's high class restaurants, and no-one could get in without a reservation made beforehand.

Recovering admirably, Ritsuko crossed her arms over her chest. "Alright, but you have to do the same if I'm right and Shinji doesn't shoot straight." The pair paused as Ristuko's words registered in their minds. "Oh, you know what I meant." Ristuko glared at Misato as her friend broke into laughter. "Plus, you have to pay for the meal as well."

Misato chuckled quietly as she nodded her agreement. As she wiped a tear from her eye, she walked over and picked up the microphone. "Hey Shinji, feel free to go all out, alright?" Ritsuko gave her friend a sidelong glance as she focused on the firing range. The sound of a loud blaring horn signaled the beginning of the test as Shinji snapped the pistol upwards, his hands in a text-book Weaver stance. The first target popped up from the ground and was immediately inundated with a barrage of bullets.

A second and third target emerged and met similar fates, Shinji pausing a moment as the fourth emerged to reload, the action taking only a couple of seconds of fluid movement. Up in the booth, Ritsuko was watching with one eye twitching as just how badly sandbagged she had been became more obvious, Misato standing by her side alternating giving her friend amused looks and Shinji impressed ones. As one of the targets had it's groin pegged with a trio of shots, Misato felt a lot better about not trying to take away the firearms Shinji had received.

Another loud blast from the horn signaled the end of the test. Shinji casually put the safety on as he removed the magazine and placed the pistol back on the nearby table he had retrieved it from at the beginning of the test. He quietly passed the time as he waited for Ritsuko and Misato to join him by calculating and estimating how well he did.

Shinji silently fell into step behind Ritsuko, the corner of her eye occasionally twitching, as she unlocked the door to the range, Misato smiling as she gave him a grateful pat on the back. The scene downrange far more impressive than Shinji would have thought, as not a single target had escaped damage, and of the targets only two received less than immediately fatal wounds, though given time they would have certainly died without aid.

As the trio walked through the various destroyed targets, the twitch slowly grew more pronounced, until it seemed the entire side of her face was suffering from frequent spasms. Misato and Shinji quietly hung back as Ritsuko brought up the computer at the end of the range that tracked the accuracy of the various shooters. The pair shared smiles as Misato reluctantly passed Shinji a small folded roll of bills.

A sharp beeping sound brought Misato's and Shinji's around to where Ritsuko was rapidly pressing a sequence of buttons on the small pop-out keyboard. She grinned triumphantly as the computer made one last sound of protest before it began to print out a short sheet of information. She tapped a button on the keyboard and the computer terminal began to retract back behind the blast walls, Ritsuko's hand darting out to snatch the piece of paper before she forgot about it.

"Well," she began quietly as she looked at the sheet," it seems Shinji did pretty well all told. He was only a few points shy of your record Misato. Which I must say puts him above every Section Two agent in NERV's pay, as well as more than a few of Section Nine." A small grin slowly spread across Ritsuko's face as she gave Misato a look. "By the way,_Captain, _I believe the _Major_ is still waiting for that rematch." Her grin grew wider as Misato looked like she had bit into a lemon.

Misato growled at the reminder of her, unfortunately, higher ranked competition, though it was mostly for show. Unlike Chiron and his men in Section Two, the Major and her elite squad in Section Nine were better than competent, and all of them were more than willing to cut loose every once in a while, unlike Chiron. Still, she hated to be reminded of the fact that the leader of Section Nine still technically outranked her, never mind the fact that she was the head of NERV's Tactical Operations division. "Ritsy, do I need to bring up last year's Christmas incident?"

The blood drained out of Ritsuko's face so fast it was as if someone had swapped her face for one carved from alabaster. Her eyes darted over towards Shinji before she reached forward and grabbed Misato's head, pulling it close to her own before she whispered harshly into her friends ear. "I though I told you never to bring that up again."

Misato grinned at her friends words, her hands reaching up to remove Ritsuko's from her person as she straightened up. "Eh, that's alright, it was all the spoon's fault anyways." While Shinji cocked his head to the side in confusion at the strange comment, Ritsuko's face turned a particular shade of scarlet usually reserved for the fluid that flows from open wounds.

"Erg, how many times do I have to tell you; There is No Spoon!" The expression of frustrated fury on Ritsko's face proved too much for Misato and Shinji as the pair broke down into uproarious laughter, Misato at her friend's reaction and Shinji at the relatively obscure but still entertaining quote. Ritsuko stared at the two for a moment before she realized that she had been set up, once again, her face twisting into a snarl as she leapt at Misato and put her into a headlock. Shinji looked around before grabbing a seat on top of one of the fallen targets, a smile on his face as he leaned back and watched the two women duke it out. He just hoped that Misato would be well enough to accompany him when he went to pick up the rest of his stuff.

* * *

"In conclusion," Ritsuko winced as one of her bruised ribs twinged in pain; she had forgotten that Misato was combat-trained and experienced, and she had paid the price for that transgression, among others. Steeling herself, she forced herself to continue her report, hoping that her pain didn't show on her face, as the Commander was always on the look out for weakness in his subordinates. "The Third Child is in better than perfect physical condition for his age, as well as an excellent marksman. Considering his performance against the first Angel, I wouldn't be too surprised to find he's had additional martial training."

Across from her, sitting implacably in his seat as he seemed to always be doing, Gendo Ikari was plotting various manners in which he could inflict untold amounts of pain and suffering upon the men he had assigned to observe his son's childhood. To his side, Sub-Commander Fuyutsuki noticed his student's inattention, even if the good doctor didn't, and quietly cleared his throat.

"Thank you Dr. Akagi. I believe that is all for now, you may leave." The bottled blonde did so, dipping into a shallow bow before fleeing, though she tried to keep herself to a calm walking pace there was no other word for her attempt to escape the Commander's steely gaze, the door closing with a sound all too reminiscent to that of a great bell being rung.

Alone once more within the haunting confines of the Commander's office, the only pair of NERV's members aware of the organization's true purpose stood silently introspective. Finally, in a display of more emotion than most would think possible, the Commander leaned back in his chair as he ran a tired hand over his face. Kozo Fuyutsuki raised a brow in surprise as his erstwhile student let out a loud sigh.

Gendo shook his head and straightened in his seat before turning to face his nominal partner. "This... this is a problem." Kozo cocked his head to side as he considered things.

"Hardly. Surprising certainly, but by no means is this insurmountable. Your son," Kozo's lips tightened at the derisive snort from Gendo, "the Third Child, is merely a single element of the Scenario, one that we still have control over, in fact we have much better control over him as he is now than if he had matched your original projections."

At Gendo's curious look Kozo cleared his throat before elaborating. "An emotionally damaged individual, especially a child, would have been far more likely to break under pressure, and more likely to run from the pressure of the responsibilities that would have been dropped onto his shoulders. With you son as he is now, we have a trained warrior, which makes the elimination of the Angel's much easier than our original calculations, as well as a perfect means of control over him and his behavior " A cold smirk stole its way across the Sub-commander's face as Gendo was reminded once again why he respected the much older man. "As mercenary as he seems to be, all we need to do is to hold his money over his head and he will dance to our tune like a perfect little puppet."

Gendo slowly nodded, his eyes closed in thought as he looked over his earlier rushed readjustments to the Scenario after his first meeting with his son after nearly ten years. Things certainly could have been worse, and he had to admit that his friend was correct in that he had a much firmer handle over the Third Child than he would have had otherwise, and nothing in the current situation was unsalvagable, in fact he was more than likely to come ahead thanks to whatever had happened to the Third Child. Yes, things certainly could have been worse, but he would work with what he was given, after all, the completion of the Scenario was already a foregone conclusion, however it was reached didn't matter, so long as it occurred.

* * *

Even from the street the loud beat of the drums and the roaring sound of guitars could be heard coming through the walls of the black concrete monolith that was the Spider's Hall. Unlike most of the buildings in Tokyo-Three, the Spider's Hall had been designed and built after the rest of the city to different specifications. Every other building had been designed and constructed to fit into the jigsaw like mechanism that was the Tokyo-Three defense grid. The towering black stone facade of the building infamous for it's patrons stood on the edge of the city, within one of the less affluent commercial districts.

Pulling her busted up Renault into an open parking space opposite the Spider's Hall, the worst structural and engine damage having been repaired already, with the less critical bodywork having been ignored by the NERV technicians, Misato was struck by the odd mix of high class cars, such as Ferrari's and the like, and rougher, more heavy duty vehicles.

Standing lined up outside the club doors was a large group of people, the usual young men and women who normally frequented such kinds of establishments mixed with small parties of one or two with their associated bodyguards. To her surprise, Shinji bypassed the line and headed straight for the door, much to the protest of those waiting in line, only to be stopped by the large, rather robust looking bouncer.

As the bouncer leaned over the much shorter Shinji, as if to intimidate him, Shinji reached into pocket and pulled out a small folded sheet of paper. Misato watched quietly from behind Shinji, her clothes rustling as she shifted her weight off her bruised leg, as the bouncer's face drained of blood. Wordlessly he folded the paper back up and returned it to Shinji, his hands shaking subtly in the cool evening air, much to Misato and Shinji's shared amusement.

The bouncer stepped aside as Shinji began to push past him, Misato following only a moment later as she noticed the bouncer pulling out a small phone. She was tempted to stay and try to listen in on the bouncer's hushed conversation, but she didn't want to lose sight of Shinji, so she followed him within, wincing as her ears were bombarded by the loud mix of heavy metal and electronic music blasting out of the speakers.

She took a step to the side as she waited for her eyes to adjust to the dim lighting with the club. Her eyes scanned the various tables around the dance floor as she searched for Shinji amongst the various patrons, ignoring the mass of people who filled the area in front of stage, where a DJ was set up beside a more conventional band, the two in middle of a back-and-forth battle of music. Finally she caught sight of Shinji's familiar white shirt and messy black hair near the bar.

As she approached him she noticed he was in the middle of a conversation with a tall, bear of a man. She couldn't tell any details about him, as she was facing his back, but she couldn't help but feel a strange sense of familiarity with the stranger. Shinji noticed her getting closer and waved at her, gesturing for the stranger to turn as she was pointed out.

Her first impression of the much older man was that he had a certain ruggedness about him that her old flame Kaji always tried to copy, usually only to fail miserably at, but it was the scar that ran diagonally across the bridge of his nose, a scar she had given the man, so many years ago, that finally jolted her subconscious into supplying the memories that were the source for her odd feeling of deja vu. She came to an abrupt stop a foot or so away from the pair, her hand instinctively drifting towards her small of her back and her handgun.

"Sergeant Boris Grishenko," Shinji flinched at the amount of venom in Misato's voice," I never thought I'd see you again. Not after I sent you and that bitch of yours running back to your motherland with your tails between your legs. How is little miss sniper? Is she still creeping around bombed out buildings?"

The large man stood silently as he let Misato's scathing words wash over him before he smiled, a sight that caused Shinji to do a double-take in sheer shock. Misato held her furious expression for a moment longer before she took smiled warmly, her arms stretched wide as she stepped forward and attempted to wrap the much larger Boris in a hug. She gave him a pat on the back before stepping back and giving him a long look.

"How long has it been now, five, no, six years since Istanbul?" Boris chuckled, a low, rumbling sound, before he nodded. Misato smiled as she waved for the bartender to bring her a drink, her eyes once again returning to Boris and the finely tailored suit he was currently wearing. "Well, you certainly look like you're doing well for yourself, but what could possibly have brought you to Tokyo-Three?"

Boris glanced towards Shinji out of the corner of his eyes before his gaze quickly returned to Misato. "The Kapitan sends her greetings, as well as her gift for her favorite little comrade, or so I am told." Misato began to nod, only to freeze, her mind registering the words and making the logical connection from them. She took in a great calming breath as she turned to face a suddenly nervous Shinji.

"So, Shinji, would you please be kind enough to satisfy my curiosity by explaining to me just why the subordinate of a wanted terrorist and criminal like Balalaika is delivering you a gift from _her_? " Shinji took a step backwards as he frantically searched for anything that would get him out of the corner he had inadvertently placed himself. His hand darted out in a blur, Misato's eyes suddenly filled by a large label as Shinji thrust her drink, freshly delivered by a far too amused bartender, an older man from the continent, right into her face.

Her eyes narrowed as she plucked the beer, surprisingly enough a bottle of her favorite Yebisu brand, deftly from Shinji's hand. She gave him a careful look over the top of the bottle, as Boris chuckled by her side. "Don't think this has you off the hook, I'll get some answers from you, but they'll have to wait until later. At the moment though, I'm ready to drink, so you can relax, for now."

She gently tipped back and took a swallow before she turned back to Boris. "So, what did ol' fry-face," The use of the familiar nickname, commonly used by those who held no love for the woman in question, made Shinji spit out his own drink, a watered down cola provided by a now smirking bartender, "want to give Shinji? She never struck me as one to do thing without reason, so why?"

Boris blinked in surprise, before he turned and fixed Shinji with a curious gaze. "You haven't told her?" Shinji winced and shrunk down as Misato stabbed him with a glare of her own.

"Not yet. I haven't really found the right moment, or the right way for that matter." Shinji closed his eyes and took in a deep breath before continuing." Well, it's not that easy to explain that my uncle ended up marrying one of the most dangerous women in the world, you know?"

If Misato had been shocked before, Shinji's words now had given her mind the human equivalent of the blue screen. Her legs began to buckle underneath and Shinji quickly leaped out of his seat to catch before she fell. He carefully set her down in a nearby booth, it's previous occupants having left quickly upon seeing Boris and Shinji heading their way, placing another beer into her hand, to which she she instinctively raised to her lips.

When she finally recovered, she slowly raised up her hand, waved around a couple times in front of Shinji's face, before she drew it back and punched him in the nose. Boris raised a brow as Shinji rocked backwards and smacked his head against nearby table, the impact sending the drinks on top tumbling into their owner's laps. The dark-haired teenager groaned loudly as he got to his feet, only to be grabbed from behind by one of the men who had been sitting at the table, before he had been forced to bump into it.

The rough looking, even more so that Boris even, gestured angrily to his pants and the wet stain on them. "Look at what you've done you little brat! These pants cost more than your mother makes in a year, and you had better have a way to repay me for cleaning them." His eyes drifted towards Misato and she couldn't help but growl in disgust at the look she received, though she did have to admit such looks weren't too uncommon, but she was dressed in her NERV uniform and she was surprised the man didn't recognize it. "And if you can't pay, well maybe your mother over there could help cover things in a different way."

For a moment everything was silent, or at least so it seemed for the small group of people gathered around the tables and booths near the bar, as a sudden feeling of rapidly approaching Armageddon weighed down on those observing the little drama being played out. Even the man holding Shinji noticed that something was wrong, even through the foggy haze that pervaded his drink enshrouded mind, as he let his hand loosen as he took a nervous step backwards.

Shinji immediately took advantage of the loosened grip by ducking down, just in time to avoid getting caught by Misato's flying tackle. The music came to a sudden halt as Misato crashed her target into his table and subsequently into the ground. Everyone turned to stare at the source of the disturbance as Misato raised the drunken man's head by his hair, before she slammed it into the floor with an audible impact. She dusted off her hands as she stood up, only to pause as she noticed the attention her actions had garnered.

In that one timeless second, where eternity had yet to begin and where infinity had been surpassed, a million thoughts ran through Shinji's mind as his eyes took in every single detail at once. '_Well, looks like its another normal visit to the bar.' _One of the other men, his left ear partially missing and with a misshapen nose, who had been sitting at the table Misato had unceremoniously knocked over withdrew a pistol, some cheap mass-produced model easily purchased on nearly any post-Second Impact street corner, from within his jacket and aimed it at Misato. Within seconds the dance-floor had emptied and only a few small groups of people remained.

The bartender ducked underneath the counter as the man with the misshapen nose was joined by his friends in displaying their weapons. "Bitch! No one messes with the Ishikawa clan!" The leader roared at Misato while a few more observers vanished from the club.

Misato winced as she began to backpedal away, her eyes closed as she reached around behind her back to draw her own pistol, only to freeze when she heard the sound of... nothing. Opening her eyes, she saw that the gangster, the Ishikawa clan a rather infamous group that had sprung up in Tokyo-Three, was staring blearily at his pistol. The soldier in Misato wanted to scream at him for forgetting to flick off the safety, but the pragmatic section in her mind quashed the impulse before she could give it voice.

Instead she slowly withdrew her pistol, the safety having been flicked off before she had gotten out of the car, and casually blasted out both of the gangster's kneecaps. While she normally would have preferred avoiding violence, attempted murder fell under the unlimited self-defense section under the law, and besides, she had a little bit of stress to work out. The gangster fell to the

The other gangsters stared at their fallen leader in shock while Misato got to her feet. One of the more intelligent gangsters, relatively speaking, turned furiously towards Misato and discharged his own weapon wildly, the shots going wide in his haste. One of the bullets slammed into the shoulder of a man sitting calmly at a nearby table before he even realized what was happening, the impact spinning him of his chair and onto the ground.

That single shot was enough to light off the proverbial powder keg the club had become as the floor erupted into furious exchanges of gunfire. Misato and Boris shared smiles as they stood back to back against the various thugs that worked up the courage to approach the pair, while Shinji crouched behind the bar, popping up occasionally to snipe someone and returning back under cover from the ensuing barrage.

The bartender groaned and muttered to himself as he pulled out his shotgun, a gift he received from his friend upon moving to Tokyo-Three. "Open up a bar he said, it'll be a hit he said. Should never have listened to his idiotic ideas." As a thug tried to jump over the counter, he was met with an unpleasant surprise, in the form of a shotgun blast to the chest which sent him tumbling backwards, dead before he ever hit the ground. "If I get out of this alive, I'm gonna skin Bao if its the last thing I ever do."

The bartender turned to Shinji with a furious look in his eyes. "You, if you don't find some way to pay for the repair costs I'm gonna take it out of your hide, got it?" Shinji smiled as he nodded, the expression somewhat off-putting to the bartender, who nodded nonetheless before the pair returned to the fray. Shinji shook his head in amusement as he casually capped a thug sneaking up on Misato in the back of the head.

"Tokyo-Three eh? Feels just like home."

* * *

Numbers in bracket's delineate individual points.

(1) Yes, I made Sawyer one of Shinji's 'Onee-chans'. Some of you may be thinking, "Dafuq," but I have a reason for putting her in that position over, say, Roberta. One, I kinda fell out of reading Black Lagoon due to becoming too busy with school and writing, and my fav manga site getting shut down, and I've only recently picked it up again. This means that my knowledge of events in the series is not quite up-to-date, and I don't want to commit to anything when it might totally screw the continuity. And yes, I **do **try to keep up a straight continuity, even when dealing with fanfiction. Then again... sometimes, screwing with things feels too good not to do.

Two, I really like her. I mean, cute little goth girl who is a practically unstoppable juggernaut when she has a chainsaw in her hand? How can you not find that awesome. Plus, Sawyer is not the last of the big-sis type characters I've picked out for Shinji, and possibly, neither is Eda. That, and I figured if anybody knew a thing or two about shyness, then Sawyer would be the one, considering she's pretty quiet herself when she's not out hunting. The last one, well, let's just say that your mind will be blown. If you want a little hint as to the last one's identity, a few words for you: "The World of Midnight."

(2) And yes, I made Balalaika Shinji's Aunt. If you're surprised, okay then, though I thought I put in a few little hints about that in the previous chapter. If your still surprised by that, oh well. And please, don't start getting into it over whether or not that would happen, or how Rock belongs with Revy or stuff like that. I made my decision, based on my views and ideas, and if you don't agree with that, then that is your right and I accept that, but please, don't go posting flames about it in the reviews, as no one really cares, and it only annoys me.

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Note, for those of you who have read the omake where all the characters are made young again, do you think they were all de-aged by the same amount? If so, that means Balalaika is younger than most of the cast. And man was she so _Cuuuute_ when she was young.

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(3) The guns that Shinji were given are the same model that one of the Black Lagoon characters uses, and Misato's gun is the same as the one she uses in the anime/manga. The Minebea P9 is the weapon of current choice as sidearm for the JSDF. Though it should be noted that the Glock 17 is the standard issue for NERV employees.

(4) Boris' last name is a shout-out to a character I found entertaining in a certain movie series. Props to those of you who know where he's from.

(5) Also, even though there was a little shot with the cold water bit, this is solely a Black Lagoon x NGE fic. Same with Green Mountain, though that is more of a shout-out than a cameo. (Edit, I lied, I forgot about Section Nine)

And yes, I'm setting things up later for later on, but nothing is set in stone, and who knows, maybe something will happen that'll completely screw everything sideways.


End file.
